Lukewarm about summer election? You’re not alone. We’re here to help

How can the Editorial Board vouch for the integrity of candidates it endorses?

Every election season,we read up on candidates and spend dozens of hours interviewing them in person. We also closely follow political newsmakers throughout the year when they’re not running for office.

But some fastballs get past us, in part because newsrooms are shrinking and don’t have the investigative resources they once did. That’s why for the last two years we’ve joined forces with Verify More, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Bellevue.

Verify More works with a national background screening company to do a 10-year criminal and civil background check on candidates, plus a resume vetting and (new this year) a social media scrub.

While Verify More continues to expands its profile, we’re proud to be its original news media partner.

Candidates are free not to sign up for the screening, just as they’re free not to sit down and talk with us. But opting out raises our doubts and weighs heavily in endorsement deliberations.

We like to think of political candidates as job applicants and our Editorial Board as a sort of HR department. Voters are the board of directors, but instead of a company, you oversee a democracy.

Would you hire someone who resists a background check and doesn’t consent to a job interview?